Across India eBook

“And while you are about it you may arrange
for nineteen places at the tables,” replied
the captain; but he did not explain who were to occupy
the three he had added to the number.

The commander went to his private cabin, after he
had visited the pilot-house, and made a diagram of
the two tables, assigning places to each of the party
and the guests, but leaving three of the end places
vacant. He showed it to Louis and Mrs. Belgrave,
and they made no objection to the new arrangement.
It was handed to the chief steward, who put a card
with the name of the occupant of each seat on the
plate in front of it. The revolving chairs at
the tables had to be all changed, and more added to
it; and Stevens the carpenter, with his assistants
from the crew, were busy for an hour making the change.

When the commander visited the music-room, he was
unable to answer any of the questions of his passengers
as to the details of the wreck of the Travancore,
though he gave the names and quality of the three gentlemen
who had been invited to go below. The sleepers
in the cabin had been aroused by the erratic movements
of the steamer before daylight, especially by the
change from rolling to pitching. There was a thundering
roar of escaping steam at times, and all of them had
“turned out” to ascertain the cause of
the commotion. Felix and Morris had been the first
to go on deck, and they had informed the others of
the nature of the event which had caused the commotion
on board.

The regular passengers had seen the strangers as they
came down to the promenade deck from the cutters.
They were naturally filled with curiosity to ascertain
who and what the trio were. One was a lord, another
a sir, and the third a surgeon; and this was all that
was known to any one.

“Have we really a live lord on board, Felix?”
asked Mrs. Blossom, as they were waiting for breakfast
in the music-room.

“He is not a dead one, sure,” replied
the Milesian, “though he would soon have been
a very dead one if we had not happened along when we
did.”

“One of them was a colored man,” added
the good lady.

“Sir Modava Rao!” exclaimed Felix.
“He is not more than a shade darker than you
are, Aunty; and he is a great man in the country we
visit next. But dry up; the captain is going
to say something.”

The commander gave the names of the three distinguished
persons who were then in the cabin. It was very
nearly breakfast-time, and the trio had had abundant
time to dress themselves in the garments provided for
them, and he requested all the party to descend to
the cabin, leading the way himself. They found
the rescued party seated on the divans between the
doors of the state-rooms, and they all rose to their
feet as soon as the commander appeared.

They presented an entirely different appearance from
what they did in their drabbled garments; for those
who had supplied them with clothing had brought out
their best clothes, and the three gentlemen seemed
to be in condition to go to church. Lord Tremlyn
hastened to the captain with extended hand as he stepped
down upon the floor of the cabin.